Aspire one: Acer’s first ‘netbook’

Acer this week unveiled the Aspire one, a new sub-notebook that takes on the Asus Eee PC. Acer describes it as a “communication device designed to provide a true mobile and wireless experience through continuous access to the Internet no matter where you are””.

The announcement this week that Acer has launched a sub-notebook with a 8.9‚ screen had the entire computer industry steal a furtive glance over at Asus and their Eee, the relatively low-cost sub-notebook that has been turning heads for a while now. The Aspire one comes in at an even lower cost, around US$379 versus US$499 for the Eee.

Acer says it built the Aspire one with a single goal in mind: ‚enrich people’s lives through simplicity, giving them immediate access to the Internet and easier communication across their entire online social networks.‚

The Aspire one uses the Linpus Linux Lite operating system, so that start up and shut down times are reduced to the minimum. A specifically optimized software interface includes the specially developed one Mail software application, which manages up to six separate email accounts in a single window, and a Messenger program that can simultaneously handle the most popular IM accounts

The form factor of the Aspire one, says Acer, comes from asking what people really need to fully exploit ‚anywhere communication‚ .

The answers were clear:

‚We want the tools we develop to be truly useful in the real world,‚ says Jim Wong Senior Corporate Vice President Acer Group and President of ITGO Acer Inc. ‚When developing new products we always follow a clear principle: we look at everyday life and current usage models of our customers, anticipate future trends and needs and then blend the best available technology with software intelligence to simplify their future. This time we came up with something really special ‚ the Aspire one ‚ an Internet device that delivers true mobile and a seamless wireless experience for all online users‚ .

“”The Acer Aspire one netbook will help drive growth in the exciting new netbook category,”” said Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager, Mobile Platforms Group, Intel Corporation. “”Purpose built Intel Atom processors are enabling our customers to innovate and together we will bring the next billion users online.””

About Acer

Established in 1976, Acer is curerently the world’s No. 3 branded PC vendor, and has focused on globally marketing its brand-name products, from mobile and desktop PCs, servers and storage, LCD monitors and high-definition TVs, to projectors and handheld/navigational devices. Revenues in 2006 reached US$11.32 billion. For more information, visit www.acer.com.

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